Plane Etiquette – 15 Things NOT To Do on A Plane

I just want to say, with the amount of things I thought of (both on and off this list), it’s a miracle I haven’t gotten into a physical altercation during my travels. I have seriously lived through each one of these (and worse, coming in our second segment of this series!)

Singing. Out loud. Because, obviously we all want to hear your throaty rendition of “Cake” by Rihanna…

Same goes for having your music blasting in your ear buds. (General rule; take out your headphones, hold them in your hands in front of your face. If you can hear your music, it’s too f*cking loud.)

Taking your socks off. Okay. I’m going to say this once…there is never a reason to take off your socks (or shoes for that matter) on an airplane.

Having your body (or parts of it) on other people’s seats. We’ve all seen that woman who hung her hair on the back of her seat…this is what happens when you piss off people…they make a viral post about you.

Congrats to the ponytailed young woman in seat 22B. You’ve invented a whole new way to be awful at 35,000 feet. pic.twitter.com/VWTPMI5JrM

Getting (obnoxiously) drunk. I am a huge fan of the vodka and OJ to kick off my vacation, but 6 or 7 of them might be a bit extreme, don’t you think?

Being too greedy with the overhead bins. I once had this guy ram my bag into the very corner of the bin just to fit his over sized carry-on into it. Not cool, dude.

Getting up to “stretch” every 10 minutes (and not picking an isle seat). If you feel the need to get up and stretch your muscles often; that’s fine – but spring the the isle seat. Please.

Being a seat-recliner-asshole. I once had someone push their seat back so ferociously that it spilled my meal tray all over me. Yeah, it was pretty fantastic…
(Please look to ensure your reclining won’t f*ck up someone’s flight.)

Being disrespectful towards young/old. Honestly, I don’t mind a crying baby on a flight; parent’s can’t CONTROL their babies. What I do mind, is that couple talking so loudly and obnoxiously about “shutting that baby up”, or people rolling their eyes when an elderly woman is taking a little longer to get up out of her seat. Just keep your thoughts to yourself.

Being disrespectful to your flight attendants. Please don’t piss off the people who bring us food and drink. All of us behind you still have to deal with this flight attendant after you’ve insulted her and put her into a terrible mood. Plus, they don’t deserve that – they are just doing their jobs…

Making people uncomfortable so you can take photos. I don’t mind if you ask to take a few photos out my window (or even do it while I’m in the washroom) but please don’t LEAN OVER ME without asking. That is a violation of my personal space and I am not okay with that.

Pushing. This is not a mosh-pit. (If it were, I would punch you in the face, because that would be acceptable. But this is an airport; so let’s both behave, eh?)

Sex in the washroom (while others are waiting). I mean; who doesn’t joke about joining the infamous mile high club (it’s been reported recently by Travel & Leisure magazine that even flight staff do this!) but please be considerate. If there is a line, a full plane, or some kind of spicy food served for the in-flight meal; please refrain from doing the do in the loo.

Constantly crinkling food bags. Maybe this is just some weird thing that bothers only me…but PLEASE JUST LEAVE THE BAG OPEN INSTEAD OF CLOSING IT AFTER EVERY SINGLE CHIP.

Being inconsiderate towards those with medical/mental health concerns. I was once on a plane that had to be diverted to Ireland for a few hours due to a woman having a serious panic attack that could have affected her heart condition; and all I heard were people complaining! I was shocked – as this woman was being carried off the plane by EMTs, people were complaining about having to re-organize their schedules.

Making some “the plane will crash” joke. I recently flew on flight 180 (for those who have seen the Final Destination horror movies, you know…) and yes – I thought it was funny and sent this little snapchat to some friends; but I did not make an overt, loud “Flight 180, oh no!” scene. Someone on this same flight however, decided it would be funny to talk about the possibility of a flight crash to anyone who would listen.

What do fellow passengers do that annoy you?
Share in the comments!

While I use the word “hate” in this post, it’s reminded me that hated (real hatred) is in fact, a sin. When I use the word, it’s usually to describe mild annoyance. It’s just become a numb kind of word for me, and I hope to stop using it as frequently.

“You shall not hate your brother in your heart, but you shall reason frankly with your neighbor, lest you incur sin because of him.” Leviticus 19:17

So, in hopes of lessening my chances of committing this sin (and becoming a hateful person in general, because hate takes up a lot of energy!) … next time I am on a flight I will attempt to reason with other passengers instead of thinking hateful thoughts. Maybe you could try this, too? Just something to think about.

I was flying home to Seoul after a quick a quick 10-day trip back to the US, paid a little extra to be on my favorite airline and got to the airport an hour earlier than I would usually arrive for an international flight. I wanted to lock in my window seat, and this particular path has a lot of large groups travelling together– so I wanted to check-in before the. Well, my seat was the only seat in 3 rows that was not occupied by this one group. The guy in the center seat behind me asked me to swap with him so he could sit next to his sister. No-effing-way was I switching after taking painstaking measures to make sure I was well situated on my flight. Let me tell you– they made me pay for it the whole 14 hours. At one point, I got up to use the bathroom and came back to the woman laying down in her seat and MY seat… asleep.

No shoes off even on long overnight flights?? That’s just uncomfortable! I will make sure I wear my non-smelly socks and shoes though 😛 Also..this? (If it were, I would punch you in the face, because that would be acceptable. But this is an airport; so let’s both behave, eh?) Priceless. Hahaha! I think if we all took a second to put ourselves in other people’s shoes (whether on their feet or off) and tried to look at the situation with love and know that the other person is trying their best, we would have a much happier world! But all the same, I know the pain of being in transit with people who just have no clue how to behave in public. Thanks for putting together this list!

The Girl Behind the Laptop

Not a travel guru or wise backpacker. Not a blogger wiz. Just an ordinary Canadian girl who fell in love with a Belgian guy and realized there was a whole world to explore.
I live to share with you and I hope my experiences with long distance love, moving countries and starting a family abroad can help you in some small way.

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